Friday, July 29, 2011

A pair of legendary locals have made The Bright House Sports Network Coaching Countdown, a rundown of the top 20 coaches in the station's seven-county viewing area.

Southeast football coach Paul Maechtle is second, while Manatee's Joe Kinnan is 10th.

The top choice will be unveiled either Monday or Tuesday at BHSN.com.

Maechtle has been with Noles for 35 years, taking over as head coach in 1981 and becoming Southeast's athletic director in '85. He has won 265 games and two state titles, and has lead the Noles to five appearances in the state title game.

Maechtle was elected to the Florida Athletic Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in January.

No. 3 on the list is Lakeland's Bill Castle.

Kinnan, another FACA Hall-of-Famer, also began coaching in '81, though he took four years off before returning in 2005. The Hurricanes have won four state titles and 253 games under Kinnan and have made six finals trips overall, with the most recent one coming in 2009.

Manatee coach John Booth and running back Johnnie Lang each took third in Class 8A in the Coach and Player of the Year balloting for t...

About this blog

Prep Rally is all about high school sports in Manatee County. From baseball to basketball, softball to soccer, volleyball to track, swimming to wrestling and weightlifting, if they play it, you can read about it at Prep Rally.

The author, John Lembo, has covered prep sports for the Bradenton Herald since 2005.